In the first three months of the year, MediaTek’s revenue expanded 15.6 percent to NT$46.01 billion from NT$39.8 billion the previous quarter, exceeding the company’s forecast ranging from NT$41.4 billion to NT$44.6 billion.

Credit Suisse analyst Randy Abrams yesterday said the strong results were caused by a 7 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in smartphone chips to 70 million units and helped by a steady average selling price of US$10 for the company’s products. In January, MediaTek projected chip shipments of 65 million units for the first quarter.

This quarter, MediaTek is expected to post 3 percent sequential growth in revenue, supported by ramping up production of octa-core chips and revenue contribution from MStar, Abrams said in a research note.

Abrams raised his earnings forecast for MediaTek this year to NT$9.6 billion in net profit, or NT$6.16 per share, from his previous estimate of NT$9.1 billion, or NT$5.83 a share.

He also increased the stock’s target price to NT$540 from NT$500 for the next 12 months.

For the quarter ended last month, ASE’s consolidated revenue contracted 14.8 percent to NT$54.7 billion from NT$64.16 billion the previous quarter, but was still higher than the NT$53.02 billion projected by Abrams.

Revenue from the core business — chip packaging and testing services — fell 9.4 percent to NT$34.35 billion in the first quarter, which was also above ASE’s guidance of between NT$32.95 billion and NT$33.83 billion.